Students and graduates to help decide what's in the curriculum

Students and recent graduates will soon have a say in what’s in the curriculum, including texts studied during the VCE, under an overhaul of Victoria’s education watchdog.

The move follows a successful campaign by students, who have been pushing for representation on the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority board and a separate panel that advises on VCE texts.

The authority provides the curriculum, assessment and reporting for all state and private schools.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said the proposal was a “great idea”.

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“That’s why I asked the VCAA to look at options to implement these changes and how we could make it work,” he said.

“If we want to get the best out of our students, we need to listen to them.”

The idea was floated last year at a congress hosted by the Victorian Student Representative Council, the peak body representing the state’s students.

Mr Merlino, who attended the event, said he was always looking for ways to strengthen student voices.

Victorian students have previously raised concerns about depressing messages in English texts, the pressures of the year 12 and the VCE’s relevance to the real world.

Details of the new model are still being finalised, and it’s not yet known what mix of former and current students will serve on the board of the curriculum authority and its text advisory panel, or how they will be selected.

The text advisory panel advises the authority on what books should be studied in subjects including VCE English and Literature.

Upwey High School student Wren Gillett, who is an executive member of the Victorian Student Representative Council, said the move was “progressive” and showed students were being taken seriously.

“We believe students should be involved in the decisions that affect them,” the year 12 student said.

“Students have unique insights because we are experiencing education first hand.”

She said the student or graduate representative would have a close line of communication with Victorian students.

“Lots of ideas will be shared with that individual, so we can have our opinions represented.”

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Many schools have embraced the concept of student voice, with students surveyed on the quality of their education, consulted over uniform changes and forming student representative councils.

The concept received a further boost last year, with the state government making it mandatory for students to be elected to every high school council and given full voting rights. This means they are now involved in hiring new principals and approving school budgets. The changes followed another successful campaign by the Victorian Student Representative Council.

Eve Mayes, an education expert from Deakin University, supports the move for students to serve on the curriculum board. She said they would have important knowledge of what texts and issues would appeal to their peers, and offer other important insights into the curriculum. But she said it was important their views are listened to.

“Often there is a celebration of an organisation having student representation,” she said. “The bigger question to think about is the expectations and responsibilities that places on students. They need to be listened to.”

Another challenge is ensuring it’s not just privileged students who are elevated to leadership roles.

Research by Dr Mayes and her Deakin University colleagues released last week found confident, popular, high-achieving and articulate students from privileged backgrounds are often appointed student representatives and leaders in primary schools.

“When it plays out in school practice, it can reinforce existing hierarchies,” she said.